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Over the past few weeks, in response to the COVID 19 crisis, the council has made changes to the way it works to support the continuation of essential services in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute. The council’s high-performing planning and licensing services will play a key role in economic and social recovery in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and Bute, and so it is vital that new arrangements are put in place to keep them operating effectively.

Three members of our ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Education Staff are finalists in the 2020 Scottish Education Awards. David Mitchell, of Dunoon Grammar, is amongst the three finalists in the Head Teacher of the Year category. Paul Gallanagh, also of Dunoon Grammar, and Susan Carter, of Kilmartin Primary, are two of the final three nominees for Teacher of the Year. Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, Policy Lead for Education, said: “I am so proud of our three finalists.

The council-operated Oban Airport is providing safety support to a trial delivering vital medical supplies between Lorn and Islands District General Hospital, in Oban, and Mull and Iona Community Hospital, Craignure, Isle of Mull. The team at the airport is providing back up to Skyports, a London-based drone delivery service. The project is designed to support NHS logistics operations to help provide front-line staff with the necessary equipment to do their jobs safely and to help keep hard-to-reach communities provisioned with essential medical care.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥'s Policy Lead for Education has issued a reassuring message to parents, urging them not to put too much pressure on themselves while trying to home-school during lockdown. Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said: “Lockdown is a difficult time for everyone, especially parents who are trying to home-school their children, many of whom are doing so while also trying to work from home – not an easy task. We fully understand that parents aren’t trained teachers and we don’t expect them to be.

Please find here an update on Audit Scotland’s Best Value inspection of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥

The council’s 2020 built environment Design Awards have been postponed because of the COVID 19 pandemic. Councillor David Kinniburgh, Policy Lead for Planning, Protective Services, and Licensing (PPSL), said: “We had to make the sad decision to postpone the design awards at the end of last week. We can’t carry out site visits which makes it almost impossible to run and judge a design competition. “We will review this decision as soon as it is appropriate. Meantime, I send my sincere thanks to everyone who expressed an interest so far.’

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ has given out £17.4 million already in business grants, and is reminding businesses affected by COVID-19 that they can apply for funding support until 31 March2021. The main area of activity involves the administration of Scottish Government business support schemes, which include rate reliefs and specific grants for small and medium sized businesses. Staff from a range of council services have either refocused their work, or left their usual roles temporarily, to help deliver support to local businesses at this hugely difficult time.

If you have applied for business support during the COVID 19 pandemic, please note there is a clear process for notification. You will receive an email from ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ telling you if your application has been successful or unsuccessful. If you have been successful, you will receive an automatic payment within three to five working days. Payment will be made directly to the bank details, submitted in your application, by BACS.

Following discussions with Police Scotland, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ will close Kidston Car Park, Helensburgh, during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Police Scotland advised that Kidston Car Park has been popular over the last few weeks with visitors parking their vehicles there and then walking along the esplanade. The local Inspector has asked the council if the car park can be closed to deter this from happening.

Caring teachers from Oban High School’s Business, Design and Technology Department have now made more than 400 protective face visors for use in their local community. Damian Heaney, Ronnie Dott and David Berry created a prototype which was approved by the NHS, before setting about creating the visors using materials from the school’s technical department, such as acrylic, acetate and pop rivets.